mingusmonk Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 BD staff is sooooo consistent you guys. If you just understood. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 So I guess you're suggesting that Michael Gaines is unloyal because he decided to do something other than write Cavies drill? (no, I don't think you're suggesting this, but you certainly jumped to conclusions about salary). No; and wrong person to utilize because Gaines left the activity. I am saying that loyality seems to only exist anymore at BD; for example, either The Cavaliers Administration was unloyal to Jeff Fiedler or Jeff Fiedler was unloyal to The Cavaliers in a way BD has rarely been with their major staff. note: The salary issue was injected by Dixon not me. I understand your point about loyalty to and from BD, but you're taking this to the extreme. Not when you realize that strong corps loyalty existed with most all corps until Star of Indiana started buying staff. Not saying that change was a bad or good thing; but since then the staff -go-round has been a part of all corps; except, for some reason, BD. Also, if BD finishes 8th a couple years straight, who knows what might happen. Not technically impossible for BD to have that type of slump in the future; but what two years has that happened from 1975 to 2013? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Why do you think they wouldn't? If Boston were able to dangle a multi-year contract in front of any of BD's lead designers that put to shame the amount they're getting from BD, and offered them the type of personal brand-building opportunities that are what REALLY makes someone money in this business (Gaines certainly didn't need whatever Cavaliers were paying him, after awhile), why do you assume that the BD designers wouldn't take it? I like the guys I work for too, but a 30% salary increase from a competitor would make up for any loss of companionship. RE: the Cavaliers situation with Mac, it's a good move. It brings him even more in-house, helps push their brand with the kids who make up the marching percussion market, and serves as an incentive for drummers from this year to return. There's no downside. As long as BD is respectful to Meehan, for example, I do not see him leaving BD for more money elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 (edited) BD staff is sooooo consistent you guys. If you just understood. BD's has remained consistently good by having their top staff remain at BD for a long, long time ? Are you sure ? This is pretty new piece of information here and it may take awhile to really sink in if its really true, you know. Edited August 24, 2013 by BRASSO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric49 Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 couldn't be put better!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Basically, you're making it sound as if all you need to do is keep the same design team together and eventually you'll be as good as the Blue Devils. You can't really believe that it's as simple as that, can you? We already know that the Blue Devils are the gold standard when it comes to staff retention. But it's not JUST that they've been together the longest, though that certainly has contributed to it. The main reasons for this longevity (which aren't as re-producable around the activity as you seem to imply) are quite simple. 1) First and foremost, these are arguably the BEST designers in the entire drum corps and marching pageantry activity. There are only a very small handful of other designers around who are as good at what they do as they are. 2) They produce results. The titles and caption awards speak for themselves. 3) The BD admin is perfectly happy to continue paying them to do what they do because of #1 and #2. 4) The designers are perfectly happy to remain there because there simply are no other places in the activity where there is no major "squeaks to the wheel," so to speak. That's the way it works there. It is an ANOMALY in drum corps. They are the exception. When it comes to other designers, they may switch around for a variety of reasons. Where they live in relation to where the corps is. What their family situation is at the time. How well they work with the other designers and admin of their corps. How much they are being compensated for their work. Their overall enjoyment and sense of self-fulfillment working with that corps. At the same time, other corps may decide to switch designers for a variety of reasons as well. The quality of work those designers produce. Again, how well the design team gels together. Or they may feel it's time for a change and a new perspective on a certain caption. Or they know of a designer who has produced better results consistently who has suddenly become available. (Sometimes, that last one can be the spark that ignites a groundswell of other major changes that propels that corps forward in a big way: see Carolina Crown circa 2003. It's rare that it works like that, or to that degree, but it does happen.) Point being that while every corps would LOVE to have a staff with the kind of consistency as BD, it's just not practical to expect (or even pine for) corps to keep the same design team as long as the Blue Devils have. As I said, they are an anomaly. If a corps isn't happy with the product their designers are giving them, or if they are not satisfied with the way the team is working together, why should they keep that designer (or designers)? Because of loyalty? Because that's what the Blue Devils do? Why shouldn't they look for a better option or a better fit? Or to put it another way, if the Blue Devils were an 8th place corps and they were consistently finishing in the 7th through 11th positions year after year after year after year, do you honestly think that great "family atmosphere" of mutual loyalty would keep that design team together for as long as they've been together? I sincerely doubt it. We'd be looking at some other corps with the most rings and saying, "Why don't more corps do what THEY do?" BD staff are not Gods nor are the gods; they are humans. Yes they are very talented and skilled humans, but so are many others; and we could start naming others just as talented and skilled but the list would actually be longer than you want to believe. What separates the BD staff from the others who are just as talented and skilled is that they work well 'together'; they know the intricacies of each other due to their longevity of working with each other; and they can adjust, as well as have the willingness to adjust, their own styles accordingly. Most every top corps could accomplish this cohesiveness if they would be more concerned about matching talanted and skilled staff who work well 'together' more than focusing on this single person for a particular caption and another single person for a different caption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 (edited) -_- Edited August 25, 2013 by chaos001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Not when you realize that strong corps loyalty existed with most all corps until Star of Indiana started buying staff. Not saying that change was a bad or good thing; but since then the staff -go-round has been a part of all corps; except, for some reason, BD. How many corps did DCI Hall of Famer Dennis Delucia work for before Star existed? Or John Meehan? Or George Zingali? yeah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric49 Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Regiment has a dynasty, called the Brothers Ferrell (Tim and Dan) who have been a part of Regiment since the '70s. And 'they', as President of the Board and Program Director, run the ship and control the major decisions concerning corps identity, performance, direction, music choice/arrangement, visual design, staff, etc... Tim Farrell needs to go back to making plastic signs and let someone who knows what they are doing take over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric49 Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 couldn't agree more. I don't give a #### where they place, but the fact that I didn't enjoy their show/music for the very first time in 2012 since I've started following drum corps (and probably the 10 or so shows before that as well) PISSES ME RIGHT THE HELL OFF! .... and then I hated 2013 too!!!! glad he's gone... now i just hope they don't make another bone headed hire... but it's PR, that's what they do. There's only so many bridges you can burn before you have to swim.. maybe it's time to look at the cause of it all.... DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And how many times have I heard this said in the last number of years. The whole problem lies in the face that the head dictator is head of the board and dictator #2 is running the corps. Just a bit of conflict of interest don't you think???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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